Today I read Acts chapter 7. It is about Stephen, when he was brought before the council for supposedly speaking blasphemy against God and Moses. Once he is before the council he tells them the story of the people of Israel, from Abraham and the covenant of Moses to Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses. It is a wonderful summary of the the stories from the Old Testament and Stephen begs them not to do as their forefathers did, but to turn to Christ. He points out that the people of Israel rejected Moses after seeing him kill the Egyptian, but he was the one God sent to deliver them. Unfortunately the people just became more angry at Stephen in stead of listening to him and decided to stone him. Just before he died, he cried out to the father to not hold this sin against them. What a beautiful example of the love of Christ.
I got to thinking about the history of Israel, God's people, and the suffering that so many faced. It is really a wonderful illustration of God's love, patience, and perfect planning. Take Joseph for example. He was most loved by his father which made his brothers jealous, so they sold him into slavery. He then got a position as right hand to a wealthy man, but fell into a trap by his master's wife and was thrown in prison. How horrible he must have felt, how difficult it would have been to understand. I am sure he asked God why, what have I done? He probably hadn't expected all of this when he had those dreams about his brothers bowing down and being under him. But if he hadn't been sold into slavery and if he hadn't gone to prison, he would not have been there to interpret dreams for those two men, he would not have been brought to the king to interpret a dream, and later become the king's right hand man. If he hadn't become the king's right hand man than he wouldn't have had the power to save his brothers, the fore-fathers of the people of Israel from starvation. After they moved to Egypt to be closer to Joseph, a new king arose who put the Israelites into slavery. Then along comes Moses, who even though it was heart wrenching for his mother, went to live as an Egyptian, which prepared him even better to lead his people out of the land. He was raised and trained as a leader, he was an Israelite so he could relate to them too, and he brought them away from the horrible life they were living. Now see how just one event being removed from this chain could have made the whole thing so very different.
This passage not only reminds me not to follow the path of the forefathers and reject Christ who is God's chosen deliverer for all mankind, but it also makes me think about how the Bible says, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 Another thing that I thought about after reading this passage is the example that Stephen was, he did not fight them as the captured him and took him before the council, he knew his Bible well enough to summarize, including time frames, a great deal of the Old Testament, he said what he had to say in a respectful, loving manner, and he still asked God to forgive them and not hold this sin against them just before he died. He didn't let fear, anger, or bitterness take control of him, but allowed the presence of the Holy Spirit to be evident throughout the whole ordeal.
Acts is definitely one of my favorite books of the Bible for a number of reasons and this chapter is one of them.
